IT Service Management has evolved greatly over the last few years. It is no longer just a set of practices that helps aligns technology and end users, it is now the single most important function for driving business value in todays digital enterprise. It’s now more important than ever for your people to understand the importance and scope of ITSM functions, tools and processes.

The IT landscape is changing significantly and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the pace of change. A recent Forbes and BMC report has found that 50% of IT Executives state that as a result of ongoing transformation, they require more training and skills development to be able to cope with demand*. Also, it is becoming increasingly apparent that deficient IT skills and lack of understanding of core business services are greatly inhibiting IT and Business alignment.

So how do you tackle this? How do you make sure that your people have the right skills for the job and fully understand the benefits and value of adopting Service Management tools, processes and best practices?

Undertaking an ITIL® certification is certainly a good place to start. The ITIL® framework allows organizations to adopt and follow Service Management best practices and processes to ultimately improve business processes, increase efficiency and cut costs. However, just sending people on an ITIL® course and getting them certified doesnt necessarily mean that people will translate this into their every day work. Organizations aren’t thinking about what they are trying to achieve by doing this.

Traditional ITSM education has remained the same for many years. Take ITIL for example, it’s primarily classroom led with mountains of acompanied reading and 26 processes to get your head around. Even new ITSM tool training sessions are typically passive sessions in which people are told how the tool works and to go off and “do it”.

Peoples learning preferences have changed. Attention spans are typically now 7 seconds (thats 2 seconds less than a goldfish for those of you that are wondering). Our minds have now been conditioned to only take in what is relevant to us, in small, snackable chunks of information. This coupled with the fact that we only retain 10% of what we read and 20% of what we hear means that organizations now needs to look at IT service management training and education through a different lens. People now want a more hands on, reflective and easily transferable training environment.

This is where experiential learning can be hugely beneficial for promoting awareness, education and training around IT Service Management tools and best practices. We retain a whopping 70% of what we do, compared to only 10% of what we read. That’s why simulation is becoming more and more popular in forward looking organizations that want their staff to be bought in and engaged around excellent Service Management practices. Immersing people into a real business scenario environment using game mechanics, getting them to perform actions, working as cross functional teams, allowing a safe place to “fail fast” and actively allowing them to see what value employing Service Management tools and processes can make to the business is hugely powerful. Simulations effectivvely allow a better understanding and buy in for ITSM best practices and actively support and encourage the behavioral and cultural change that organizations need to succeed.

Many thousands of ITIL® Foundation courses are delivered every year with simulations incorporated into them. The reason they are so successful in this environment is that they really help people buy into and understand the concepts that they have been given. They take what effectively can be potentially very dry subject matter and make it really interesting; and also help people link back the learning that they’re getting to their business.

More recently, G2G3 have launched a digital version of our IT Service Management simulation. This is a groundbreaking new product which is ideal for promoting Service Management practices (it doesn’t have to be ITIL®) awareness and education. It is a highly interactive, scenario based, “single player” experience which allows participants to learn “on the job” through fun, interactive, gamified scenarios. The beauty of this is that participants can learn in their own time and their own way. It’s also an ideal tool to promote service management awareness if you don’t have the resources to put absolutely everyone through an ITIL certification.

IT Service Management has become the heartbeat of the organization now. It needs to keep pumping 24/7 for the business to be successful in todays digital era. It’s your people that are the engine. Make sure that you are actively engaging, educating and involving them on your Service Management journey.

*Forbes Insights, Delivering Value In Todays Digital Enterprise- The State of IT Service Management.